Liverpool

Joe Bradshaw
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Harvey Elliott joined Liverpool in July 2019, two months after becoming the Premier League's youngest player at just 16 years and 30 days.

As he settled in, he was only given seven minutes of top-flight action in the title-winning 2019-20 season before impressing on loan at Championship side Blackburn Rovers during the following Covid-affected season.

Since then, it has been patchy. Scattered good form has dovetailed with significant spells on the bench and a player whose future looked so promising now finds his career at a crossroads.

So is it fair for Arne Slot and Liverpool to be keeping him sidelined?

His numbers since the 2021-22 season are unconvincing.

He is ninth for chances created, 14th for goals scored and eighth for assists, behind the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, who all moved to Anfield after Elliott.

It it scant reward for a talent who is currently tearing up his second straight Under-21 European Championship as second top scorer (four goals) and a constant supplier of opportunities.

Naturally, there is mitigation. Over this time period, he ranks 19th for minutes played - only just above Kostas Tsimikas - so he has not been afforded the same opportunities on the pitch to consistently provide impressive numbers.

Dig a little deeper, though, and the case for keeping him further weakens.

While minutes can massage the numbers over goals and assists, they cannot account for efficiency and, when given the chance, in certain areas Elliott has not been effective enough.

The above graph shows metrics such as passing and shooting accuracy and here his success rate is poor relative to his team-mates.

Similarly, he is not a particularly effective dribbler, being successful only 45% of that time.

Now, in fairness to Elliott, he is a player who takes risks with the ball so might be expected to have weaker attributes. After all, Mohamed Salah's passing accuracy ranks him 39th for Liverpool over the past four seasons - and he has not done too badly.

However, Elliott's key competitors for a midfield berth, all boast better accuracy and from a larger sample size of minutes.

Neither is the England Under-21 star a particularly effective dueller - his 46% success rate ranking him 21st.

While Elliott has had his moments in a Liverpool shirt, under Slot last season his performances were limited and his end product even more so.

Fine displays in this summer's international tournament have boosted his profile but, rather than give him oxygen for a push into the Liverpool XI, it is probably more likely to increase his price for a host of European suitors.

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Former Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole believes Harvey Elliott will be hot property this summer after his stellar performances at the Under-21 European Championships.

On Wednesday, the midfielder scored twice against the Netherlands to send England's youngsters into their second successive Euros final, with his four goals putting him as second top scorer in the tournament.

After the game Cole told Channel 4: "I love the kid, he plays football the right way. I am excited for his future. He has done a great job for Liverpool, but if he decides to move on, there are levels to move on again. That passion, he can show every week.

"Anyone outside the top six he comfortably walks into, and then two years on that level he comes back to Liverpool's level and competes.

"He started as a young man at Fulham but his learning has been spread out. Teams from all over Europe will be looking for Harvey Elliott's agent's number."

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Cole also believes Elliott's match-winning strike- driving forward before firing a low shot into the corner from the edge of the box - was worthy of great praise.

"That second goal, if Messi did this, the world would be stopping," said Cole. "He has this ability and the frustrating thing is he could do it on a consistent basis if he played regularly.

"His problem is he can do so many good things. He's a victim of his own skills and that is why he has been so good for Liverpool. They can play him anywhere."

What's the plan for Elliott?

Should he still be given a chance at Liverpool?

Or do his Euros performances just push his price tag up?

Let us know what you think

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Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock is uncertain on Harvey Elliott's Reds future despite him shining for England Under-21s at the European Championships.

Elliott has made 147 appearances, scoring 15 goals, in his six years at Liverpool since joining from Fulham as a teenager.

The 22-year-old made 18 league appearances under Arne Slot last season, but his only two starts were when Liverpool had already won the league.

"There's a lot of speculation about 'will he be at Liverpool next year?'," said Warnock. "That's not easy.

"There will be phone calls with his agent. It's very much a rollercoaster as the tournament goes on.

"Because of the amount of games he has played for Liverpool, and the impact he had coming in, I think we all thought he would catapult and play for a long time in the first team.

"But he has a World Cup winner in Alexis Mac Allister in front of him, Ryan Gravenberch had an unbelievable season and Dominik Szoboszlai was brought in for big money.

"He has got great quality - but you just feel you want him to do it more consistently."

Liverpool have opened talks with Crystal Palace over a deal to sign captain Marc Guehi, with the 24-year-old England defender said to favour a move to Anfield this summer. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist

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It's the end of an era for Liverpool.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold joining Real Madrid and new signing Milos Kerkez placing Andy Robertson's spot in danger, one of the Premier League's great full-back combinations is over.

Summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen Jeremie Frimpong is likely to start at right-back next season, opposite Kerkez, with Robertson being heavily linked with a move away from Anfield.

But Liverpool's new-look full-back pairing will have to do very well to make a fraction of the impact Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have had.

Only on 10 occasions in Premier League history has a defender created 10 or more goals in a Premier League season - and Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have each done it three times.

How good were they? Read more from Emlyn

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We asked for your views on Liverpool's latest signing Milos Kerkez.

Here are some of your comments:

Sam: I'm sure he will be great but I'm not sure why they've prioritised a new left-back over depth at centre-half to be honest. Feels like we're being very quick to write Andy Robertson off after one weaker season.

Daniel: Kerkez is a genius buy. Had the season of his life last season and he will definitely fit right in with our defence. It also gives Robertson a bit of competition for that position - no disrespect to Konstantinos Tsimikas - after a surprisingly lacklustre campaign last time.

Eug: Good player. Feel a bit sorry for Robertson. He has done really well for Liverpool for a few seasons. If Robertson goes, who's going to cover Kerkez?

Stuart: Great work being done in strengthening an already strong squad. Looks like Arne Slot is going to tweak his tactics for next season, with pace and skill in key areas added.

Gareth: Great business so far but we really need a striker. Liverpool should not let Ibrahima Konate go on a free either. Alexander Isak would of course be perfect, but he's not worth breaking the bank over.

Jack: It now depends on who leaves. With Jarell Quansah on his way to Bayer Leverkusen and talks between Darwin Nunez and Napoli advancing, a proven striker and centre-back are a must. Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace would be a great option for the latter, but striker options are minimal with inflated price tags. Isak is looking too pricey and difficult to achieve and Hugo Ekitike still not convincing some. Could Jayden Danns step up to be a squad rotation player?

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BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark says Milos Kerkez has developed "a great deal" at Bournemouth but feels there is more to come from him.

Having covered the full-back extensively when working for the station, Clark told BBC Radio Merseyside: "I think Liverpool fans will take to him very quickly. He is a player that can get you from one end of the pitch to the other very quickly and cause some damage at the right end of the pitch but also has developed into a really good defender too over the last couple of seasons.

"One goal that stands out to me from last season was the one Bournemouth scored at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where he picked the ball up on the edge of his own 18-yard area and before you knew it, the ball was in the back of the net at the other end.

"That was the other thing they really wanted to add to his game this season, Andoni Iraola spoke about it and Kerkez himself talked about it quite a bit himself too - was more in the final third.

"You could see the potential there but certainly in the season just gone by he has added assists and a couple of goals to go with that as well. A really exciting prospect who has already developed a great deal over the last couple of seasons and you only feel there is more to come from him too.

"Personality-wise I think Liverpool fans will take to him. He's a bit of a livewire, high energy, definitely one of the louder ones in the dressing room, lots of personality and I'm sure that will fit in nicely at Anfield."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

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Milos Kerkez says he will give "absolutely everything" in pursuit of trophies after completing his move to Liverpool.

The Hungarian left-back, who made 74 appearances in two seasons for Bournemouth, is Arne Slot's third signing of the summer.

"I'm really happy," said Kerkez. "It's a real privilege to come to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, [the] biggest club in England.

"After this, I'll go home and in my hometown enjoy a few days, and then I can't really wait to come back and put the training kit on and start to train and prepare for the season.

"I just want to thank everyone for really showing me big love, even before it will be announced now.

"And keep supporting the team like you support always, because you're the biggest fan base in the world.

"I'm going to give everything – absolutely everything – to win trophies with the club and to hopefully score some goals at Anfield.

"I can't wait to hear the roar. And see you soon."

What do you think of the signing? What business should be done next? ell us

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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Milos Kerkez is expected to be first choice as Liverpool's left-back next season and contrasting his numbers with the long-serving Andy Robertson, who the 21-year-old could effectively replace, perhaps shows why.

The Hungary international started every Premier League game this season (which in part helps boosts his numbers) but the fact that Robertson failed to start nine games, and produced just one assist, may suggest that the latter's influence is beginning to wane as he struggled to return to full fitness in this campaign following injury problems last season.

Uncharacteristically, Robertson also significantly underperformed the assists he would have been expected to provide.

Kerkez, on the other hand, outperformed his expected assists by some margin, while providing double the amount of overlaps and 35% more crosses from open play.

Robertson, who has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid, has been a wonderful servant for the Reds.

The 31-year-old has won two league titles and the 2019 Champions League across nine years at Anfield, but it may simply be a case that younger legs are needed to perform the demands of Slot's system.